Reports in the US suggest that market leading mail order etailer Amazon.com is now very close to launching its much anticipated download store. Those reports are also speculating that the Amazon download platform will sell non-DRM protected MP3s, and that the etail firm is in talks with the Universal Music Group about being able to sell some of that major's catalogue in that format.
If those reports are true, that would, of course, be the first time Universal has sold digital music without digital rights management technology embedded, and would see the biggest of the major record companies following the lead set by EMI earlier this month when they announced they would soon make their music available without DRM via iTunes and, after that, elsewhere. Amazon would presumably look to sell the EMI catalogue via its MP3 platform also.
Amazon, along with Google, has long been touted by many (well, by us, for sure) as one of the few companies who could seriously take on Apple in the digital music space - mainly because of their existing large consumer base in online music retail - and an MP3 based store would improve their chances of doing just that, given that MP3s are popular with consumers and, crucially, iPod compatible. Of course an MP3 based store has not been viable to date because the major labels would not support it, but with EMI having changed their policy, and Universal reportedly following suit, now is probably the ideal time for Amazon to enter the market with an MP3 service.
Which is interesting, because many have commented in the past on the fact Amazon has taken so long to get into digital music, speculating that such late entry into the market could mean it has "missed the boat", with Apple just too dominant to take on. But an MP3 based platform with major label content is so much more competitive than any other system that has been available to date that Amazon may well have been wise to wait until this stage to enter the game.